When she slammed into the back of the giant’s throat she screamed out loud.
Golden jerked out of her dream to the sound of the car horn blaring and the engine running. Her eyes flew to Reed and what she saw made her heart leap in fright. Reed was slumped over the steering wheel, eyes closed, obviously unconscious.
With a gasp she reached out to touch his face and when she felt something warm and sticky she knew it was too thick to be rainwater dripping from his hair. Reed was bleeding.
She jerked her head back to face front and, headlight shining bright, she could see that they’d left the road and had ended up in a shallow valley thick with shrubs and trees. “Oh, no.” Her hands flew to her lips. “We’ve had an accident.”
The shock of the realization knocked her back to her senses. Instantly, she pulled her seatbelt and leaned over to gently lift Reed’s head away from the steering wheel. Immediately the blaring of the horn ceased, leaving only the sound of the engine and of the never-ending rain. She laid Reed back against the seat and quickly switched off the engine before it led to an explosion...
...which meant she had to get him out of the car and as far away from the wreck as possible.
Ignoring the soreness in her ribs Golden threw her door open and ran through the pelting rain around to the driver’s side. When she opened Reed’s door the rain splashed in and when it spattered his face he moaned.
Taking that as a good sign Golden did not pause in her task of freeing him. She leaned over to unsnap his seatbelt then, as she drew back, she got her first good look at Reed in the light beaming from the bulb that had snapped on when she opened the car door. Eyes closed, his breathing was shallow and his face pale with a thin line of blood trailing from under his hairline. Her heart went out to him. She just hoped he wasn’t seriously hurt.
It took a couple of seconds for her to snap back to the present. There was no time to think, only to act. Pulling back, she slid her arm behind Reed’s shoulder, tilting him just enough so she could slip her hands under his armpits. Once she’d got a good grip she braced her feet on the ground and pulled.
Reed did not budge.
But Golden knew she had to get him out. She had no choice.
Abandoning her plan to use her hands, she slid her forearms under his armpits instead and, bracing one leg against the driver’s seat she pulled with all her might, nearly falling backward when Reed’s body shifted and tumbled out of the car.
He was on the ground now with no shield from the pouring rain and even though Golden bent over him to protect him, the rain splashed against his face, running into his nostrils, making him gasp and choke.
It was a blessing in disguise. Reed coughed then opened his eyes, blinking as if wakened from a dream.
Golden leaned over even farther, shielding him from the rain.
“What happened?” he croaked. “Where am I?”
“We had an accident. We have to get away from the car. Come.” She lifted his shoulders up off the ground but he was too heavy to move any farther. “Can you move?” she asked, her voice urgent.
“I...think so.” Still looking dazed Reed leaned forward then rolled over onto his knees before staggering up onto his feet.
Immediately Golden went to him, jamming her shoulder up under his arm, taking as much of his weight as she could. Together they stumbled into the cover of the trees, far enough that they would be in no danger from an exploding car, then they collapsed onto the sodden ground.
Golden eased out from under Reed’s shoulder then panting, she stared at him, her heart still thumping like a drum. “You need help,” she gasped. “We have to call an ambulance. Where’s your phone?”
He groaned and pointed to his right pocket. Golden dipped her hand in to feel for the phone but there was nothing there. The other pocket, maybe? She dug around there, too, but came out empty handed. That could only mean one thing. The phone was still in the car.
She sucked in her breath. Did she dare go back? She turned to look at Reed. When she saw his pale face she knew she had no choice. She had to get him to a hospital.
“I’ll be right back,” she said to him then turned to push through the leaves.
“No, wait. Too...dangerous.”
Reed’s voice was weak, terribly so, which only served to strengthen Golden’s resolve. She didn’t reply, simply ran out of their shelter into the pelting rain. Wasting no time, she tore the car door open and piled in then she peered between the seats and fished around. “Where are you, phone?” There was no answer to her frustrated muttering, only the sound of the rapping of the rain on the roof. Dropping to her knees she felt around under the driver’s seat and when her hand closed around something flat and smooth and rectangular she breathed a sigh of relief. Finally.
Within seconds she was back at Reed’s side, dialing before she even settled on the ground beside him. “I need an ambulance,” she said as soon as the operator came on the line. “We’ve been in an accident.”
It took another two minutes to explain exactly where they were but then she got the reassurance that the location had been determined and an ambulance would be dispatched immediately.
She looked over at Reed but he had closed his eyes again and his breathing looked ragged.
The worry returning full force, Golden wrapped her arms around Reed’s shoulders and held him close.
“Just hang in there, honey,” she whispered into the watery darkness. “It will soon be all right.”
Golden didn’t know which one needed the reassurance more, she or Reed. But it didn’t really matter. Right now all they could do was sit and wait.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“Get me out of here,” Reed whispered fiercely. “I don’t have time for this.”
“But the doctor said-”
“I don’t care what the doctor said,” he growled. “They can run all the tests they want after we get the job done.” He twisted around to peer at the machines to which he’d been hooked up. “What time is it, anyway?”
Golden glanced down at his cell phone which was fast running out of charge. “Eighteen minutes after eleven.”
“Christ. Less than an hour to go.” He sat up in the bed. “Find my shoes. Quick. And where the hell are my clothes?” He glanced down at the hospital gown covering his body, his tanned legs stretching out before him.